Britain today announced a slew of investments to deepen trade and economic ties with India in the infrastructure and financial services sectors, a day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held talks with his UK counterpart.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said the discussions as part of the eighth UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) will further boost trade and investment between the two nations.
"The agreements we've made today are another important step in deepening economic ties between Britain and India. Working together across infrastructure and financial services we will be able to solve key shared challenges which will help us create growth in both of our economies," Osborne said.
"I want to thank Arun (Jaitley) and his team for travelling to London and for making today's talks a success, as we bring our two great economies closer together," he said.
The UK's Treasury department released a series of agreements reached during the EFD held yesterday.
Under the Indian National Infrastructure Partnership, the UK will support the delivery of major infrastructure projects in India across key sectors including smart cities, renewable energy and railways, all of which are vital for India's future growth.
This initiative will support India's development and may also present significant new commercial opportunities for UK businesses offering expertise in infrastructure delivery and financial and professional services.
India will press ahead with liberalising the Indian legal services market to allow foreign lawyers the right to operate in India, the UK's Treasury department said.
This will act as a catalyst for international investment in India and give businesses the access they need to international legal advice.
It will also bring new opportunities for the UK professionals, who will benefit from being offered similar rights to those that Indian firms already enjoy in the UK, allowing them to enter partnerships with Indian firms and bring their specialist expertise to India.
Both sides welcomed the prospect of a pipeline of rupee bond issuances in London by Indian corporates, and agreed that the first such public sector issuance would be by the Indian Railway Finance Corporation.
This will help build on the success of rupee bond issuances in London by the International Finance Corporation, and demonstrates the UK's position as a business partner of choice for the world's fastest growing economies.
As the rupee markets build, London's capital markets will play a key role in financing India's continued rapid economic growth, the department said.
Both nations agreed to substantially strengthen links between the leading FinTech communities in India and Britain.
This includes significant joint commitments to high-profile FinTech trade missions between the two nations and major steps towards UK FinTech companies helping to deliver 'digital India', covering priority areas like access to finance for micro-enterprises.
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FirstGroup, the leading Transport operator in the UK and North America, will operate employee shuttle buses at the Hinjewadi IT Park in Pune.
The five-year contract will commence in April, 2016 initially at Hinjewadi and is expected to expand across India. The group will use its shuttle bus expertise from existing First Transit operations in North America and is working with local partner, bus maker Tata, who will maintain the vehicles.
Lovibond Tintometer - a leading UK supplier of water analysis equipment based in Wiltshire - has committed to setting up a factory and sales service operation in Hyderabad with the aim of enhancing the production of instruments and chemical reagents to meet the rapidly growing demand for high quality water testing products in India.
Tintometer will be investing over 1 million pounds in this project over the first three years.
London-based consulting engineering firm Pell Frischmann has won three major contracts in the Mumbai region.
The contracts have been awarded by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and will see Pell Frischmann evaluating the detailed project report and bid process management of the 33-km Mumbai Coastal Road project, alongside two contracts for major Waste Water Treatment Works located in Mumbai suburbs.
Edinburgh-based Dryden Aqua, a marine biological company specialising in water quality and treatment technology, has secured a contract to install their product in 5,000 rural community drinking water systems in India during 2016.
The current project is valued at 500,000 pounds for this year, with the technology improving the availability of clean drinking water in these communities.
Recognising the development of the Fintech sector in India, Startupbootcamp FinTech, the leading UK-based accelerator focusing on financial services innovation, will soon launch a branch in Mumbai.
This new branch will enable the growth of the overall FinTech ecosystem in India and foster the next generation of innovative startups in this exciting region.
Diabetacare has procured a partnership project for Diabetes Services in King George Medical College, Lucknow - India's largest hospital with over 3,600 inpatient beds.
The contract will see Diabetacare invest about 500,000 pounds over two years, with nurses being trained to become specialist nurses in diabetes - directly supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Skills Development Mission.
UK-based water testing company Del Agua has won a 700,000-pound contract from the government of West Bengal to run a water testing programme for the entire state for 1 year. This project will help safeguard the local population from various water contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.
